Cannon

"Cannons fire powerful, large caliber shells towards one target at a time. This makes them ideal against heavy and armored enemies, but less effective against massed infantry."

Level 1

Level 2-3

Level 4

Level 5

Level 6-9

Level 10

Level 11

Level 12

Level 13

Level 14

Level 15

Level 16-18

Level 19-20

Level 21

Level 22

Summary

The Cannon is the fourth defense to unlock in the game.

The Cannon is a single target defense that deals high damage to one unit but has a low rate of fire.

Cannons have a moderate range.

Offensive Strategy

Cannons deal massive damage to one unit, so be careful of them.

Take advantage of Cannons placed too close together and use a Shock Bomb on them to allow your Troops to take them out easily.

If possible, use Flares to flank around and avoid as many Cannons as possible.

Warrior attacks may become hindered by Cannons as this leveled defense can have the damage capable of destroying a Warrior in one shot.

Before Smoke Screens are unlocked, players may find advantage in attempting to use Gunboat Weaponry to destroy them before landing. However, this may consume energy too quickly and lead to an attack failing. Wherever possible, attempt to bypass Cannons. If the player should decide to target the Headquarters that live Cannons still protect, it would be just as effective to Shock them.

After Smoke Screens have been unlocked, Cannons can simply be bypassed as the player can create his own safe path. If Cannon groups protect the Headquarters, the attacker may shock them to prevent massive casualties.

Cannons in the front lines can be attacked and destroyed by Grenadiers safely. However, this method may be time-consuming and you may run out of time in an attack.

Without proper positioning, Grenadiers may wander into the Cannon's range and will likely be destroyed in one shot.

Defensive Strategy

Cannons are your main defenses against high health Troops at low levels and remain important for many levels, so try to protect them well.

Try to upgrade your Cannons as much as you can to give them more health and help prevent attackers from destroying all or most of your Cannons with Gunboat Weaponry.

Place your Cannons behind other Buildings so that the Cannons get a chance to shoot many times.

Check for obvious paths through wide open sides of your base that someone using the Heavy-Zooka army composition may use to flank around your Cannons. Keeping such areas protected with Rocket Launchers and/or Sniper Towers will massacre the Zookas after the Heavies walk by which ruins the attack.

Putting your Cannons near the front lines can be very effective at defending against Tanks. It makes the Tanks face them before they have gathered enough energy to destroy the Cannons with Gunboat Weaponry.

Keep your Cannons spaced out so that attackers cannot shock multiple at once.

Upgrade Differences

Initially, the Cannon is a small, stout, green structure with a short barrel, a metal base supported by 3 round disks, and a valve at the back, with an "80" drawn on the side (see trivia below).

At level 2, the barrel gains an orange band around it.

At level 4, the Cannon's barrel is elongated by a second tube attached to the first one.

At level 5, the Cannon's base becomes more reinforced.

At level 6, the cylindrical body of the Cannon becomes more rectangular and turns a darker shade of green. There is a plate bolted to the top of the Cannon.

At level 10, the Cannon's barrel gets much longer, and there is an orange section with the numbers in the hexagonal tube, as well as screws on either side. The second barrel is extended, but the orange bands on the main barrel are removed.

At level 11, the Cannon's usual green color is replaced with a new dark blue color scheme.

At level 12, the Cannon gains a heavily reinforced base that is more circular.

At level 14, the stone base is replaced for a metallic one. The orange plating turns red.

At level 15, a light is added on the top. The back turns dark blue.

At level 16, the Cannon gains a very large red frontal shield. The Cannon grows slightly longer. The back turns back to gray.

At level 19, the Cannon's base is reinforced further by three outriggers extending from the original base.

At level 21, the Cannon gains a massive structure behind it, imitating a cock pit, with a new red hatch entrance on the top. A small square box with 2 silver pipes sits just behind it, and a small yet thick blue sheath extends out of the frontal shield and around half of the barrel.

At level 22, the Cannon gains a reinforced square base around its base in replacement of its existing metal base with outriggers.

Trivia

The number on the side of the Cannon is different than the number in the same place on the other side. One side says "08", while the other side says "80". It is unknown why these numbers are different. It may be a visual mistake by Supercell. It may also be a flipped design.